That's what Edison athletic director and basketball coach Richie Lynch said on Friday during the debut of the new Taggart Gymnasium following a nearly $10 million renovation. The funds were provided by Measure Q passed in 2008.

"I'm seeing people here I haven't seen in years," Lynch said. "I tried to stress to my team, 'Tonight is about way more than us.' We're out playing for our community, for our school, for our alumni. A basketball game is the smallest thing in this whole deal."

The facility includes a weight room, team rooms, wide-open locker rooms that include restrooms, a training room with a whirlpool and an expansive lobby with a snack bar and restrooms. Within weeks the lobby will include big-screen televisions in front of and on top of the snack bar that will allow fans to watch games via a closed-circuit feed while they eat.

"It's an indication of where our community is going," principal Brian Biedermann said. "We're a community-based school. It's here for the community. It's great for the kids. There's not enough for kids to do in South Stockton to begin with. To give them a gym that is this nice and rivals any gym in the area, it's pretty amazing."

It was the second game of a girls-boys varsity doubleheader. The Stagg girls opened the night with a 47-41 victory over the Vikings (9-13, 2-4). Veasna Samol led the Delta Queens (11-12, 4-2) with 15 points. Victoria Peralez led Edison with 10.

Edison junior Justin James Macciocchi, a member of the Sixth Man Club that was throwing T-shirts and seat cushions into the crowd during game breaks, said the school's new facilities - Charles Magnasco Stadium, which reopened in the fall of 2011, following its own $10 million facelift, and the new gym - is something that the Edison community can be of.

"It's the heart and soul of the campus," Macciocchi said. "Everyone's supporting Edison. Look at this place right now. We're stacked. It's definitely a source of pride for this school. For me, the Edison logo itself is a source of pride. If I could wear it every day I would."